Brendan James Gilbert

Brendan was born and raised in Niagara County, New York, living in the towns of Cambria, Lockport, and Pendleton. He graduated from Starpoint High School and attended the University at Buffalo. To pay for his education, he worked at Tops Markets for three years as a cashier, stock clerk, and baker, and then worked for the University as a technical computer assistant for two years where he provided second-level support to students using University computers.

Brendan graduated from UB with a bachelor's in Computer Science and minors in Business and Japanese. He worked for MBMS, Incorporated, a software development firm, as a software engineer. His focus was in supporting and developing a database application used by banks to track mortgages. Subsequently, he interned for KPMG, LLP conducting audits of computer system controls and providing audit support for CPAs, and volunteered for Buffalo City Hall, focusing on zoning and municipal law issues.

Brendan returned to UB to earn degrees in both law and business (a JD and a MBA) so that he could use his business and technical skills and experience, and disciplined work ethic, to provide legal services to his Western New York home. To finance his graduate education, he taught management students the use of database software and programming--a highly technical subject--and taught nearly 1,500 students over nine semesters.

For Individuals:

At UB Law School Brendan focused on areas of law important to individuals, such as mediation, issues in cyberspace and the Internet, social security disability, affordable housing, and New York Surrogate Court procedure. He represented a public assistance grantee in contesting a sanction placed by the Erie County Department of Social Services. He also served as Director of an office providing legal assistance to University students, and successfully challenged the University's change to student loan eligibility, allowing over one hundred students to finance the last semesters of their degree.

Most importantly, Brendan refined his ability in the most important and well-known skill sought in attorneys by their clients--the ability to represent them at trial. Brendan successfully litigated to two criminal acquittals against other UB law students, earning a selection as Best Advocate and the Robert J. Connelly Awardfor Excellence in Trial Practice. Because of his skill, he was invited to and joined UB's national trial team, which placed third in the Fifth Annual National Ethics Trial Competition in Sacramento, California.

Brendan's experience at trial and before state agencies, his knowledge of New York State's law and practice, and his skills at making the technical understandable from being a teacher, mean you can retain him with confidence to advise and represent you in any matter.

For Business:

Brendan focused on areas of law important for business, such as intellectual property, business formation, business buying and selling, trademark, sales and leases, electronic commerce, in-house counsel issues, and taxation. He has consulted to an international corporation based in Buffalo regarding their payment card industry regulatory compliance. He has developed skill in areas important to all New York State litigants--the law of evidence, the procedure of New York Civil Practice, our State administrative law and regulations.

Brendan served as the Executive Business Editor of the Buffalo Intellectual Property Law Journal, and President of the Management Information Systems Association. He has had his articles published on emerging areas of the intersection of intellectual property and the Internet, which have been relied upon by law professors for articles published in the Stanford Law Review. He was also the lead co-author on "Context-sensitive, Temporally Adaptive Metadata," the Best Paper of the New York Third Annual Symposium on Information Assurance, the academic track of the 11th Annual New York State Cyber Security Conference.

Brendan's joint degree and skills mean he can understand your business, he speaks your language, and he knows how to get what your business needs, without the large law firm's high fees your business doesn't need. His teaching experience means he can translate the "legalese" back to English, and that you can retain him with confidence to advise and represent your business in any matter.

Brendan is licensed as an attorney and counselor-at-law in New York State. He is a proud member of the New York State Bar Association, the Bar Association of Erie County, and the New York State Defenders Association. He is also a New York State Public Notary.